In: Chemistry
There is a large difference between Ionization potentials of Oxygen and Nitrogen, whereas the Ionization potentials of Phosphorous and Sulfur are very Close - Explain.
Ionisation energy is the minimum energy needed to remove a mole of electrons from a mole of gaseous atoms.
O has a lower 1st IE than N because O is 1s2 2s2 2p4 and N is 1s2 2s2 2p3. The 4th electron in the O atom's outer level has to pair up with one of the others, and this introduces repulsions, which makes it easier to remove.
The relevant factors are nuclear charge, atomic radius and screening by inner electrons.
For phosphorus, there is one electron in each while for sulfur, in one case, two electrons must be grouped together. Since electrons have the same charge (-1), they prefer not to be near one another. Thus, with sulfur, it is easier to get rid of one the electrons that is paired because it would rather be alone so that is by itself, thereby becoming like phosphorus.
Phosphorus likes the way it is--3 electrons, by themselves--so you would need more energy to get rid of one of its electron because its normal state is the stable state.